Perpetual Anticipation
by Lianne2808
Summary: Another story of Lily & James, and their Seventh Year at Hogwarts. First attempt at this, so i hope you all enjoy! Lily/James Sirius/OC Remus/OC Frank/Alice I dont own the Harry Potter world JK Rowling does! i just write about it.
1. Starting the Rumour Mill

**Starting the Rumour Mill**

**Chapter One;**

Lily walked along the Hogwarts Express dreading visiting the compartment she was looking to find. Lily could think of nothing worse than entering the compartment of the Marauders, even though she could stand two of them, but her prefect duties were important and she had to find Remus.

It was the start of Lily's Seventh Year at Hogwarts, and after the events of past years she was looking for a fresh start. No more letting people take her for granted, she had learnt that at the end of Fifth year with Severus, and with some luck James Potter might leave her alone.

Lily had to laugh at her last thought, although James irritated her more than words could possibly describe, she did have to admit he had matured during sixth year, and although she would never admit it, she did appreciate him standing up for her during the incident she had had with Severus in Fifth year.

Lily reached the compartment she was looking for and peered her head around the door. James and Sirius were in a deep discussion about Quidditch tactics for the year, Peter was hanging on their every word, and Remus was sat opposite looking quite tired. The conversation between James and Sirius came to a halt as they recognised Lily in the doorway.

'Hey Evans, come to put James here out of his misery?' Sirius shouted,

'I think I've turned down James quite enough Sirius' Lily replied,

'EVANS does that mean you're going to say YES' exclaimed Sirius,

James looked up hopefully, but judging by the look on Lily's face he knew he didn't have a chance.

'Remus, we need to patrol the corridors now, its our turn, can you please hurry as I don't think I can stand being in this compartment any longer' said Lily, Remus hurried out of the compartment and shut the door quickly before Lily could hear what Sirius was shouting.

'You have a good summer Lily?' Remus asked as they started their patrol,

'Not too bad, glad to be back to a place where I can be myself though' Lily replied.

It was true, Lily thought to herself, she really DID belong at Hogwarts, it was her home, a place to be herself, and as the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station, and she saw the magnificent Castle aglow in the moonlight, she felt like everything was right in the world.


	2. Introductions and Revelations

**Introductions and Revelations**

**Chapter Two;**

Lily made her way up to the dormitory feeling quite full from the feast. The feast was amazing as usual, and she had had a little too much to eat. As she opened the door to her dormitory she laughed as she saw her friends all sat on her bed waiting for her, with wide grins across their faces.

'LILY LILY IS IT TRUE, IS IT TRUE?' shouted Nic, and the two girls sat with her looked up at Lily.

'Is what true? I'm started to get worried now' Lily replied, eagerly awaiting an answer.

'Well, we were just in the common room about to head up here, and Sirius shouted to us, he said that when you were on the Hogwarts Express patrolling you finally agreed to go out with James Potter' said Lisa.

The look on Lily's face must have answered their question, as Lisa and Nic looked at each other and then slowly retreated from the edge of Lily's bed. Lily's anger was building as she walked over to face the girls. Alice was the only one who had stayed close to Lily, and she was starting to regret that decision.

'HE SAID WHAT?' Lily exploded, as she rounded on the girls,

'He was spreading it around the common room, although James wasn't there so I don't think he had anything to do with it' Alice said quickly.

'I HATE THE MARAUDERS' Lily exclaimed as she sat next to Alice.

'What, even Remus?' Nic asked whilst laughing to herself,

'Well, no, not Remus' Lily replied,

'Peter?' asked Lisa,

'Well no, but then again, most people forget about him' Lily laughed to herself, thinking of Peter and the way he worshipped James and Sirius.

Lily was happy to have made friends quickly at Hogwarts, and even happier that they all still remained friends to this very day. These friends were Nicola Erlanson, Lisa Fulton, and Alice Vick.

Nicola was a very clever witch, and her and Lily were always top of the class. Nicola was very pretty with her bobbed brown hair, brown eyes, and nice glasses to frame them. Most boys appreciated her looks and she had almost the entire Quidditch team after her, bar James and the girls. But to Lily, Nicola was her friend Nic, Lily knew Nic hated the use of her full name, wasn't aware of how pretty she was, and was still the same girl she had nervously started talking to on the Hogwarts express 7 years ago.

Lisa Fulton was the polar opposite to Nic and Lily looks wise, with her bright blue eyes and bright purple hair, she had an odd sense of humour, but a fierce loyalty to her friends. Lisa didn't do as well in all the classes, as Lily and Nic did, but she was outstanding at Charms.

Lastly, Alice Vick was a shy girl, with mousy brown hair, and deep brown eyes. Alice wasn't as confident as the other girls, and she was only really herself when she was alone with the others, but she was an amazing friend.

Lily laughed to herself thinking of how they all met, Lily had met Nic on the train and was ecstatic when they were both sorted into Gryffindor. Lisa and Alice joined the table shortly after, the only reason they had started talking straight away is that they all reached for the Tiramisu at the same time during dessert, this broke the ice and they had been friends ever since, as they realised a love of desserts was not all they had in common.

Lily snapped out of her daydream to find the girls taking bets on what she was going to do next. Lily stood up, with a look of determination on her face, and shouted;

"I AM GOING TO KILL SIRIUS BLACK",

Lily then stormed out of the Dormitory, and Nic turned to Alice and Lisa and said;

"You two owe me 5 Galleons".


	3. Red Head riled up!

**Red Head riled up!**

**Chapter Three;**

Lily ran through the common room and up the stairs to the boy's dormitories, when she reached the door for the Seventh years she stopped, took a deep breath, and started knocking on the door very loudly.

'SIRIUS BLACK OPEN THIS DOOR NOW' Lily shouted angrily.

'Erm Lily, I'm not going to open the door if you're shouting like that, what has Sirius done anyway?' James called from behind the door. Lily listened through the door and could hear Sirius pleading with James not to let her in.

"SIRIUS TOLD THE ENTIRE COMMON ROOM THAT ME AND YOU ARE AN ITEM POTTER" Lily finished banging on the door as she heard James twist the doorknob and open the door.

'Just so you know Lily, I had no part in this, and because this is going to be fun to watch…Sirius is hiding under Remus' bed" James pointed to the bed closest to them

"PRONGS WHY THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU TELL HER? WHAT HAPPENED TO US MARAUDERS STICKING TOGETHER"

Lily laughed as she heard the sounds coming from under Remus' bed, she walked up to the bed and dragged Sirius out by the ankles.

"Please don't kill me Lily, I'm young, I've got my whole life ahead of me, and I'm good looking. It would be a shame to waste this face wouldn't it?" Sirius smiled as he pointed to his face,

"Sirius your charm doesn't work on me, I might take 5 points from Gryffindor for spreading false rumours" Lily said as she walked to the door, just as she was about to leave she heard Sirius shout,

"EVANS YOU BETTER AWARD THEM POINTS BACK TO GRYFFINDOR WHEN YOU AND JAMES FINALLY END UP TOGETHER".

When Lily entered the common room again she saw Nic, Lisa and Alice sat in the corner with Remus and Peter. As Lily looked at Remus she noticed how pale he was, she hoped he wasn't becoming ill as they had prefect duty in the coming week, but Remus did have quite the reputation over his health.

As Lily walked over to sit with them Remus shouted,

'So Lily, do I still have Sirius as a room mate or did you finish him off this time?'

Lily laughed and replied ' is still alive, you'll still be seeing his ugly mug at the breakfast table every morning'.

'Anyway Lily' Nic interrupted 'you can help me, I was just saying how ill Remus looks, do you agree? He refuses to accept that he's ill, but you can tell he's paler than usual',

Remus look at the ground and refused to meet Lily's gaze, Lily couldn't tell if he was just embarrassed or if he didn't want people to notice.

To spare Remus from Nic's inquisitive looks Lily decided to change the subject to something she had just picked up on 'Nic, since when you do notice so much about Remus?' Lily asked, Nic was not someone to pick up on these kind of things, she never really focused on a guy unless, Lily finally clicked, Nic never really focused on a guy unless she really liked him!

After Lily had spoke about Nic's heightened interest in Remus everyone went quiet, and she was sure she saw Nic blush, whilst poor Remus just looked confused. The awkward silence was not interrupted until Frank Longbottom strolled over to ask Alice if he could speak to her about the coming year, as both of them wanted to become Aurors. Alice blushed and joined Frank in the other corner, Lisa looked at Lily and rolled her eyes. Lily knew exactly what Lisa was thinking, as she was thinking the exact same thing, what on earth was going on in the common room? It was as if someone had sent the teenagers hormones into overdrive.


	4. Head Badges and Surprises

**Head Badges and Surprises,**

**Chapter Four;**

Lily dressed in a hurry that morning, today was the first day of lessons, and it was well known that when all the seventh years were assembled in the hall to collect their timetables, Professor McGonagal was going to announce who the new Head Boy and Girl were. Lily had dreamed of becoming Head Girl since first year.

It was a simple task handing out the timetables to the Seventh years, as they had all chose the previous year what subjects they were taking at N.E.W.T level. As Lily looked at her timetable and smiled with excitement she saw Professor McGonagal walk to the front of the house tables ready to speak.

'As most of you are aware, each year two students from Seventh year are selected to represent the school as Head Boy and Girl. The staff have carefully selected these students and we are all keen to see the impression they make on the school, it gives me great pleasure to announce that our new Head Girl is …LILY EVANS'

Lily almost burst into tears she was so happy, but that happiness was short-lived as Professor McGonagal announced 'And our new Head Boy is...JAMES POTTER'

Cheers erupted from the middle of the Gryffindor table and Lily saw Remus pat James on the back as Sirius was in fits of laughter.

James stood up and walked up to the front with Lily to collect their badges, Lily walked in a dazed state and only snapped out of it when she realised James had put his arm around her,

'Potter if you value that arm I'd get it off me before I hex it off' Lily snapped,

'But Lily dear, we cant be breaking the rules, its our responsibility to uphold them now' James laughed.

Just as Lily was about to remove James' arm by force she noticed a group of Slytherins approaching them, headed by her old friend Severus Snape

'Oh look, looks like Potter finally got his way at last, got Head Boy and got the girl' Severus sneered at them,

'Well who'd want a filthy little Mudblood like her anyway Snape' said Avery, one of the Slytherins stood behind.

'YOU OUGHT TO WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT YOU DISRESPECTFUL LUNATIC' James shouted back, the look on his face was livid, and he had his wand drawn. Lily looked at Severus, and he had a look of pure hate on his face, Lily wondered what she had ever done to Snape for him to ruin their friendship in fifth year, by calling her by the word Avery had just called her by.

Lily started to drag James away, it was no good three against one, and Lily did not want to stoop to their level. As she dragged James away forcefully the Slytherins walked off laughing.

James and Lily walked back to the common room in silence, they both had a free first period and Lily hoped it would give James time to calm down before lessons. As they walked into the common room Sirius ran over as he saw James' expression,

'Prongs mate, what's up? Your face is livid, has anything happened?' Sirius asked with a concerned expression on his face. Although James and Sirius annoyed Lily immensely she couldn't deny that they were loyal and caring friends to each other, all the Marauders were.

'We just had a run in with some Slytherins, including Snape' James spat out the words 'and that IDIOT Avery called Lily, well he called her, well you know what word I mean' James was getting flustered as he told Sirius what happened, his anger was still there, and when James finished speaking Sirius looked just as angry.

'Those Slytherins wont know what's coming to them, we'll prank them James, that'll get your anger out' and with that James and Sirius huddled in a corner with Peter and planned their prank.

Lily looked around the common room for her friends, they were sat near the fire chatting away happily, and Lily couldn't help but notice that Remus had chosen to stay and talk to Nic instead of joining the Marauders in the corner.

Lessons went slowly that week, Lily decided it was because she was scared to hear what the Marauders were planning for the Slytherins, although she felt like the Slytherins deserved it she knew she'd feel guilty being a Prefect and Head Girl, as it was all over her anyway. Lily sighed and made her way back to the common room, wondering what the Marauders great prank was going to be.

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Read and review, would be nice to know if anyone is actually following the story :-)


	5. Pranks, Frank, and a bit of pain

**Pranks, Frank, and a bit of pain**

**Chapter Five;**

The week had passed quickly, it was now Friday night, and Lily entered the common room with the hope that the Marauders had forgotten about their revenge, but it was highly unlikely. Lily looked to find her friends and saw them sat near the fire with the Marauders, so Lily had no other choice than to go sit with them. Lily sat down in the only available seat in-between James and Peter.

'Nice of you to join us Evans' Sirius called, he was sat on the floor next to Lisa, both of them discussing Quidditch.

'Well Black, I thought it would be rude to ignore you all, especially seen as I like most of the people sat here' James started to smile so Lily added 'No Potter that didn't include you'. The group laughed when they all saw James' face drop.

The group all returned to their original conversations, and Lily sat there next to James with nothing to say, she was confused by her feelings as she realised their was awkward tension between the two of them. Lily was grateful when James stood up and announced that he best head down to the pitch and set up for the Quidditch trials.

James was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain and it was his duty to find two new Chasers for the Gryffindor team. Lisa and Sirius were both on the team, Lisa was Seeker and Sirius a Beater.

As James headed to the Portrait hole Sirius called after him "We'll be down to help in a minute Prongs' and then returned to his conversation with Lisa. Lily had to admit that Quidditch bored her a little, but then again she didn't really understand it.

Ten minutes later Lisa and Sirius headed down with their Quidditch kits and Brooms to help James with the trials. Lily then looked around, Nic was sat in deep conversation with Remus, Peter was attempting to write an essay for Herbology, and she noticed Alice sat next to Frank...holding hands. There seemed to be a bit of love in the Gryffindor common room. Lily had no homework and didn't fancy pointless chitchat with Peter so she decided to have an early night. As she climbed into bed she thought about how different James seemed this year, he didn't pester her as much, he stood up for her, even his messy black hair didn't seem to annoy her as much. Lily put her head on the pillow, and was scared by the thought that she actually liked James Potter this year.

Saturday morning was nothing special, just a chance to relax. Lily was still in bed, she looked at the alarm clock next to her and saw it was 10am, as Lily looked around the dorm she saw two empty beds, Lily realised Lisa must be at Quidditch practise, and she presumed Alice had gone to Breakfast with Frank. Alice and Frank were a couple now, she had asked Alice when she had returned to the dorm last night.

Lily was about to go back to sleep when Remus ran into the dorm room,

'GIRLS GIRLS COME QUICK LISA'S HURT, QUIDDITCH, SLYTHERIN, HOPSITAL WING' Remus then ran out of the dorm.

Lily and Nic both jumped out of bed after hearing this and both headed at top speed to the Hospital Wing, neither of them had really understood what Remus had said, all they knew is that Lisa was hurt.

The girls ran into the Hospital Wing and saw James, Sirius and Peter all sat down next to the bed Lisa was lying in. As they walked over to see their friend Sirius shouted,

'NICE PYJAMAS GIRLS…REAL NICE'

Lily looked at herself, and then at Nic, both of them were wearing little cami-set pyjamas with little shorts. Lily felt her face turn to match her hair, and Nic was an equal shade of red.

Before the rest of the Hospital Wing could see, Remus gave Nic his robe so that she was covered, Lily couldn't help but notice the look of possessiveness in his eyes as he handed Nic the robe. Peter then, feeling sorry for Lily, handed over his robe, although it was far too big and Lily still felt stupid.

'So what happened?' Lily asked looking down at her friend in the bed, unconscious.

'We were practising out on the pitch, and then we heard a scream, we turned round and Lisa had fallen to the ground, thankfully we weren't too high up, but it knocked her out and she's broken her ankle' Sirius explained,

'Well what happened? Why did she fall? She's an excellent flyer' Nic added.

James and Sirius looked at each other uneasily before James looked away and said 'Well, we kind of glued the door to the Slytherin common room shut last night, it took Slughorn an hour to get the Slytherins out of there this morning'

Lily was confused, she looked at both James and Sirius and said 'But what's that got to do with Lisa?'

Sirius looked at only Lily and said 'It was Snape's fault, a group of Slytherins came out onto the pitch when we were practising, they hexed Lisa and she fell, Snape took credit for it before they ran off like cowards…we think they were getting revenge on us, but we don't know why they did it to Lisa, maybe they were aiming for one of us and missed"

Lily felt the blood boil in her body, she stood up angrily and shouted "IM GOING TO KILL SNAPE" and with this she ran out of the Hospital Wing, with James chasing after her.

Again, would be nice to know if people are reading.

If anyone reviews, I'll put the next chapter up tomorrow


	6. A Confrontation and a Confession

**A Confrontation and a Confession**

**Chapter Six;**

Lily ran through the corridors and into the Great Hall, as soon as she saw Snape at the Slytherin table she shouted his name and urged for him to follow her outside. As Lily walked out of the main doors, with Snape in tow, she wondered why everyone had stared at her as she entered the Great Hall.

'What do you want Lily?' Snape asked when he caught up with her,

'Now I know you hate the Marauders Snape, but why take it out on Lisa? What has she ever done to you?' Lily snapped.

'Well what have the I ever done to the Marauders?' Snape responded,

'Look Severus, this isn't about them? What's happened to you? What ever happened to the guy I used to know and like, Sev?' Lily asked, tears forming in her eyes.

'Yeah and what happened to the Lily I liked? I see you around the school, fawning over Potter, you used to HATE him Lily, how can you forgive him for 6 years of torment, and not forgive me for one mistake?' Snape pleaded,

'That one mistake Severus, was a very big one, and it hurt more than you can imagine. I see you with all your friends, plotting to become Death Eaters, and hate to break it to you SEV, but your Dark Lord wont like me, but I'm PROUD of who I am, I'm proud to be Muggle born' Lily looked up at Snape, tears running down her cheeks. Snape looked up from the ground he'd been staring at,

'I hope you and Potter are very happy together MUDBLOOD'

At those words Lily saw red, and slapped Snape across the face. Snape ran off then, leaving Lily alone.

Lily stood there, unable to move, tears streaming down her face. The next thing Lily was aware of was a pair of strong arms around her, she didn't realise who it was, but she was comforted, and it felt right. Lily looked up into a pair of worried hazel eyes, and without a thought, she kissed him.

'Erm, I'm sorry James, I don't know what came over me' Lily apologised, James stood there in shock, though with a slight smile upon his face.

'I should be around you when you're upset more often' James said, then added

'Wait that came out wrong, I don't like you being upset, I just, well… that was amazing'.

Lily just looked at him, and then couldn't help but laugh, she hadn't laughed like that for a while, and there were still so many things on her mind, but she truly felt happy.

'So Lily, what did all that mean? Are you willing to give me a chance?' James asked, hopeful.

'I think we should see how things go first James, but I shall make more of an effort with you of course, I'd just like to get to know you first, but if it helps you obviously don't irritate me as much any more' Lily responded,

James grinned in a dopey manner before saying 'You know, I wanted to punch Snape for a reason that had nothing to do with him shouting at you',

'How come?' Lily asked, a bit puzzled,

'Well, he could take his pervy eyes off what you're wearing'

And with that Lily looked down, and to her horror, realised that she was still in her very skimpy pyjamas, and that Peters robe, really didn't cover much. No wonder she got some funny looks in the Great Hall.

**Thanks to "MaxRideRox" for reviewing, so that's why you get this chapter today!**

**Reviews give me reason to write.**


	7. Awarding Points & Keeping Secrets

**Awarding Points & Keeping Secrets**

**Chapter Seven;**

It was a Thursday morning, and the last lesson of the day, Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. The entire group had taken Transfiguration N.E.W.T level, it was nice to all be in a class together. The buzz in the classroom was the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff that weekend. It hadn't taken a long time for Madame Pomfrey to heal Lisa's ankle, so the full Gryffindor team were scheduled to play. Lily looked around the classroom to see Sirius smiling at her, with a huge grin formed on his face. This worried Lily.

Professor McGonagall explained to the class that the lesson was to focus on how to turn a key into a dove. As Professor McGonagall asked the class if they had any questions, Lily saw Sirius raise his hand,

'Yes , is there an issue with the work I have set you?'

Sirius flashed a smile at Lily before answering Professor McGonagall,

'Well you see, five points were taken from Gryffindor a few weeks ago, as I was apparently spreading rumours, and well I have reason to believe these rumours are true, so in all fairness, shouldn't we get the five points back?'

'Mr Black I have no idea what you are talking about, I suggest that you take it up with the Professor or Prefect who deducted the points' McGonagall replied,

'Oh believe me, I intend to' and with this Sirius winked at Lily.

Lily left the classroom quickly, with Nic, Lisa and Alice running behind

'What was all that about? Before, with Sirius' Lisa asked,

'We know he was talking about you' Nic added,

Lily quickly replied, 'You know Sirius, just trying to wind me up, I'm sure its nothing really' Nic and Lisa looked at each other and burst out laughing before saying in unison'

'So this has nothing to do with the fact you kissed James Potter?'

Lily looked at them in shock, she couldn't believe her friends knew.

'So that's why you and James have been getting on so well is it?' Lisa asked,

'I cant believe you didn't tell us, and rumour has it YOU kissed him' Nic said with a smirk,

'I never thought I'd see the day' added Alice. Lily tried to shrug off the conversation saying she did not know what was in the future for her and James, and she quickly rushed to the Great Hall.

As the girls sat down at the Gryffindor table, Lily noticed Severus looking at her, he then turned round and started talking to the boy next to him, Lily recognised the boy as Sirius' younger brother Regulus.

Lily turned to Sirius and said, 'I didn't know your Brother was friends with Snape' Sirius looked up from his plate of food, with a look of sadness in his eyes 'I don't care who he hangs around with, I don't have family anymore, although the Potters may as well be'. Lily felt sad for Sirius it was rumoured around school that Regulus wanted to join the Dark Lord, and although Sirius would never admit it, Lily knew Sirius was scared.

It was common knowledge that Sirius had run away from home the summer before Sixth year, and now lived with the Potters. His family were Pureblood extremists, and Sirius didn't want to be any part of it. Lily admired this about him.

James arrived at the table then, and took his place next to Lily, the two of them had been getting on well recently, and Lily was finding that she liked James a lot the more they spoke to each other. James was a really good listener, and was really intrigued about things in the Muggle world, he was very curious to how common things like Cookers and TV's worked. Lily found it quite endearing to have him looking at her in complete awe. The more and more time she was spending with James she found it hard to understand why she never liked him in the first place.

That night in the common room Lily looked around at her friends, Nic and Remus had fallen asleep on the sofa and were huddled up together. Lisa was helping Peter with some homework, James was sat next to Lily, and Sirius was winding up Alice and Frank. Lily looked back at Nic and Remus, although those two weren't officially together, Lily knew it was only a matter of time. They adored each other! This made quite a few of the Seventh year boys quite jealous, as they didn't understand what Nic saw in him.

Lily turned to James and said 'So when will Remus actually decide to get together with Nic?' James shrugged 'Erm Moony has some issues with girls, he's a bit confused at the minute, and it doesn't help that Padfoot keeps winding him up'. Lily looked at the sleeping couple, slightly confused by what James had said, and wondered how on earth the Marauders came up with their nicknames.

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Thanks to "MaxRideRox" who is the person kind enough to review :)

Im updating for them, seen as they seem to love the story,

Reviews make me write


	8. Glory and Misery

**Glory and Misery**

**Chapter Eight;**

It was a cold morning at the start of October, and Lily could feel the cool breeze snapping around her face as she walked down to the Quidditch pitch. It was the first match of the year, Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff. The excitement in the stands was electric, but Lily still didn't find Quidditch appealing.

'AND THERE OFF, POTTER GETS THE QUAFFLE, PASSES TO YOUNG, WHO SCORES, TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR'.

The match went well, with Gryffindor winning by 320-70. Lisa caught the snitch and there was uproar in the stands. As the day drew to a close there was still a sense of excitement in the air, and Lily knew they would probably be celebrating in the common room until the early hours. As Lily and James were Head Boy and Girl it was their duty to patrol the School on a Saturday night.

'But did you SEE Ali score, I was sure she was going to miss, the team are really shaping up well this year, and Lisa's a good seeker she's like a magpie chasing a shiny object' James chatted excitedly about the mornings events until he noticed Lily was only feigning interest.

'Lily, there's something I've been meaning to ask you?' James asked, with a doubtful look on his face,

'If its to award them points back then no, I mean its not technically true' Lily joked,

'Actually, I was meaning to ask if you had any plans for the first Hogsmeade trip, its on the 30th October, and I was wondering if, well maybe, you might want to go with me? If you don't already have plans of course' James stuttered and looked down at his shoes.

'Yes James I will go to Hogsmeade with you, but no tricks mister, just cause its Halloween weekend' Lily looked at James as a huge smile spread across his face,

'Well Miss Lily, does that mean I get a treat then?'

Lily rolled her eyes at him.

Lily and James entered the common room quite late, to find Sirius asleep on the sofa with a Gryffindor banner draped over him. James crept over to sofa and without warning, shot water from the end of his wand over the unsuspecting Sirius.

'WHAAAWAATERRREUGGGH' Sirius tried to speak through the jets of water still blasting at his face,

'PRONGS MATE STOP IT BEFORE YOU FLOOD THE COMMON ROOM' Sirius shouted as he leapt off the sofa out of harms way.

'Sirius, is there any reason you're asleep down here?' asked Lily,

'Well as a matter of fact, Remus is in a FOUL mood, and I can't cope with looking at him mope about the dorm all night shouting at everything in his path' Sirius replied.

'Padfoot, why's he in a bad mood? What's happened?' asked James concerned,

'Oh him and Nic had a fight, she asked him to escort her to Hogsmeade on the next trip, but he just went into a rant about how he's not good enough for her, she deserves better, then proceeded to tell her to get with one of the seventh years who fancies her…needless to say she didn't take it amazing well and accused him of leading her on. Oh and she may have slapped him in front of the entire common room, you know how riled up Gryffindor girls can get' Sirius explained and winked at Lily, Lily scowled in response.

Lily said goodnight to James and Sirius and climbed the stairs to her dorm. She realised Nic must have spent the night crying as she entered the dorm and saw the box of tissues next to Nic's bed. Lily sat up in bed with her mind racing, the argument just didn't seem like Remus at all he was usually so placid. Lily rested her head on the pillow and decided that Remus Lupin had something to hide.

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**Ive updated early because im going away for a week, if i get Wi-fi at some point i may update, but then again i dont get many reviews so might have a break.**

**Lianne**


	9. Digging, avoiding, and Death Eaters

**Digging, avoiding, and Death Eaters**

**Chapter Nine;**

A few weeks had passed since the argument between Remus and Nic, and Lily was determined to find out what Remus was hiding. Whenever she approached James about it he tried to avoid the subject, which confirmed her suspicions that all the Marauders must know the reason. Nic and Remus avoided each other, although anyone could see them stealing glances every so often, it was sad to watch. Not only was Remus avoiding Nic, but he spoke only when he had to when around Lily, it made Prefect duty quite awkward.

Lily started to try and eavesdrop on some of the Marauders conversations, but James and Sirius were quick, and she didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Those boys were clever!

Lily had told Nic of her theory, but Nic was still upset and her rejection blinded her seeing what was in front of her very eyes.

Lily confided in Alice and Lisa too, and they said they would keep an eye out for anything unusual.

One night when Lily entered the dormitory she found that for once all of the girls were together. This was a rare occasion, usually Lisa was at Quidditch practise, or Alice was with Frank, and Lily had Prefect and Head Girl duties to focus on. The girls decided to have a catch up and headed down to the common room to relax in front of the fire.

'He really is adorable' Alice said with a sweet smile on her face, 'and he's such a gentleman, he opens doors for me and everything, I'm starting to think I love him'. It was nice for the girls to see Alice so happy, her relationship with Frank had improved her confidence, and she always had a smile on her face.

'You know what we could do with?' Lisa said, as she stretched in front of the fire and readjusted the stack of pillows she was leaning against, 'ICE CREAM, oh I would love some ice cream, WHY oh WHY can we not conjure food? I would MARRY someone if they could get me ice cream' all the girls laughed, it had certainly lightened the conversation, it had been awkward skating around topics trying not to bring up Remus, and Lily was trying to avoid talking about her kiss with James.

The conversation flowed easily from then, and it was nice for the girls to have time together, they were about to go back up to the dorm room when they saw the Marauders enter the common room, although Remus looked around awkwardly before retreating to his dorm. The poor guy looked miserable!

'So Fulton, when are we setting a date for the wedding?' Sirius asked Lisa,

'Guys is there something you two aren't telling us?' asked Lily, worried by the fact Lisa had turned bright red,

'I swear nothing going on, I'm so confused' Lisa said looking around at the girls.

'Oh come on Lisa, don't deny our love' Sirius laughed as he came behind Lisa and put his arm around her, as she moved away he gestured for them to sit down and told them to shut their eyes.

When the girls opened their eyes there was a wide variety of Ice Cream resting on the coffee table and all the girls screamed. The Marauders always were good for smuggling food into the common room.

The girls walked down to breakfast the next morning with smiles on their faces. It had been good for them all to catch up, its surprising that even when people live together they still don't get to spend as much time together as people would think. As the girls sat down they realised their smiles would not last for long, there was an atmosphere of misery in the Great Hall, and everyone seemed to look upset.

Lily's first instinct was to grab the copy of the Daily Prophet in the centre of the table.

"DEATH EATERS CAUSE CHAOS IN CATCHPOLE" the heading screamed from the front page. Lily continued to read;

"In the early hours of the morning the community of Ottery St. Catchpole was savagely attacked by Death Eaters. The survivors of the attack told the prophet 'we have never seen such careless regard for life, and our thoughts go out to the families of those affected, the only Death Eater we managed to recognise was Bellatrix Lestrange the rest were either masked or we could not see their faces, it was terrible'. Amongst the dead include Albert and May McDonald, Janet Walton, Gregg, Lucy, and Sarah Heaton, and 10 unnamed Muggles. Story continues on page 4."

Lily could not continue reading, the magical world always seemed like a safe haven to her, it was hard to except that those few who wanted to disturb the peace could cause so much damage.

The sombre mood continued all day, and Lily grew uneasy. It had been so easy for Lily to ignore the tales of Death Eaters and their so-called Dark Lord, but things were snowballing, and people were dying. Lily sat down in the Great Hall, thinking of how unsafe it was to be a Muggleborn in the wizarding world.

The girls were sat with the Marauders during Dinner, although they barely spoke, everyone was still reeling over the mornings news. As they all prepared to leave Lily noticed a 6th year Gryffindor walking towards them, visibly upset.

"PASS THAT ONTO YOUR COUSIN FILTH, ITS FOR MY PARENTS" and with that the girl punched Sirius in the nose.

Sirius fell to the floor clutching his nose, blood streaming through his hands, with James, Remus and Peter huddled around him.

'I don't understand why that happened' Lily exclaimed, she was very confused by what she had just witnessed.

Sirius looked up at Lily, with the same sadness she had witnessed in his eyes when she spoke of Regulus,

'Bellatrix Lestrange is my cousin, and the girl who punched me was Mary McDonald, she lost her parents, and it was probably at the hands of Bellatrix' Sirius looked down at the floor after he spoke, as if not to see Lily's reaction.

'But that's not your fault Sirius, you cant help who your family are, and its common knowledge you've disowned them anyway' Lily said with earnest,

'Thank you Lily, but I guess Mary just needed to vent her anger, anyway… Lisa can you fix my nose?' Sirius looked at Lisa.

Lisa wanted to become a Healer once they left Hogwarts, and it was common knowledge that she knew a few simple healing spells as they came in handy on the Quidditch pitch too. Lisa strolled over,

'Episkey' she said as she pointed her wand at Sirius' nose, and with that his nose was fixed.

'Thanks Lisa' Sirius said 'anyway I'm just going to head to the dorm, just fancy being by myself for a while'

Everyone had parted quickly that night, it had been a bad day and it was hard to try and be cheerful. The only highlight was when Lily realised she cared a lot about the Marauders, they were good friends not only to each other but to the girls also and their friendships has really developed since September. As Lily got ready for bed she tried to think of positive things, and hoped that the upcoming trip to Hogsmeade would not be clouded by recent events.

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**Im going on holiday so wont be able to update till next monday, I'm being nice and updating now so you've got a chapter before i go.**

**Enjoy and REVIEW**


	10. Nerves on show in Hogsmeade

**Nerves on show in Hogsmeade**

**Chapter Ten;**

Lily woke early that weekend, when she had time to calm down after the weeks events she realised just how nervous she was about Hogsmeade. So much had changed between her and James, how did everything change so fast? Or should she have given James more attention over the years?

Lily hated to admit it, but she was scared.

Lily walked down to the Great Hall with Lisa and Alice and waited for James to meet her.  
"So have you got cold feet Lily?" asked Alice,

"I'm quite scared, I guess its just weird with it being James of all people" Lily replied.

"If its meant to be it will all come natural, that's how it was with me and Frank",

Lily smiled, it was nice to have advice off someone in a relationship, not that Nic and Lisa weren't helpful, but Alice had more of an idea.

The girls sat waiting in the Great Hall for over 20 minutes before they finally saw the Marauders enter.  
"Don't worry Miss Evans, James wasn't going to stand you up, we just had to calm Moony down that's all" Sirius shouted.

As the boys made their way over Lily noticed that James had tried to tame his hair, Lily had to suppress a giggle as she realised it was stuck out at the back.

Lily was thankful for the distraction when Remus came over to her.

"Erm Lily, do you know where Nic is?" asked Remus, he looked very agitated and worried,

"She walked into Hogsmeade quite early, I think she went with one of the Chasers from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team" Lily replied, eagerly awaiting Remus' reaction.  
"Well what's she gone and done that for? I really need to talk to her, I got myself ready to do this, I can't back out now, and why's she gone with him, I was under the impression she liked me and now I…"  
"MOONY SHUT UP" shouted James, "You need to calm down, walk down to Hogsmeade with the rest of them and if you see her ask her for a chat"

Remus walked off and stood with Sirius, Peter and Lisa. Lily hadn't even noticed Alice leave with Frank she was that preoccupied.

"Erm, so… should we walk down now?" asked James,

Lily stood up and smiled nervously "I guess that would be a good idea if we actually want to get to Hogsmeade sometime today".

The walk down to Hogsmeade was not what Lily had expected, the others had left her and James to walk together, and she thought that the walk would be full of awkward silences, but she was wrong. Lily was really shocked by just how much conversation there was between her and James, it flowed easily, and Lily was really enjoying his company.  
When James was with Lily he didn't seem as confident as he did walking around Hogwarts or playing Quidditch, he was so humble and interesting. Lily was finding it hard to believe that this was the same James Potter she used to dread bumping into.

James really was a gentleman, he held open the doors to all the shops they visited, and even bought her a chocolate frog. Lily hadn't felt so care-free and happy in a long time.  
"James I'm really glad I decided to come with you today" Lily said as they stood outside the Three Broomsticks. James' face lit up, and a wide grin spread across his face.  
"Lily, thank you for giving me a chance, I've had such a fantastic time" James replied, Lily was just about to enter the building when James tugged on her arm.

"Lily, I don't know whether it's too soon for me to be asking you this, but today has gone so well. It's always been you Lily, since first year. You're the only girl in Hogwarts who has ever caught my attention, your not afraid to speak your mind…I know that one far too well, and your so beautiful, inside and out. I'm sorry to sound soppy, but I really like you Lily, do you think you would consider being my girlfriend?" James looked down at the floor nervously whilst Lily stood there in shock.

"Yes James" said Lily; her thoughts were all over the place, no one would have bet on this…except maybe Sirius. James looked elated and hugged Lily tightly before twirling her around.  
"James PUT ME DOWN" Lily laughed, and with that James put her down and took her hand, and they entered the Three Broomsticks as a couple.

Lily and James met up with the rest of the group inside the Three Broomsticks, and they all chatted about their days over a Butterbeer. Everyone was very interested to hear about James and Lily, and all seemed happy that they were a couple, but Sirius still insisted that Lily should award some points back to Gryffindor.

" So Jamesy boy, were going to ask Lily to settle a little bet between myself and Peter" Sirius said and smirked at Peter,  
"Lily, when James asked you out was he all cool and smooth, or soppy?"  
Lily burst out laughing and replied "Well I shouldn't condone you two making bets, but I'm going to say soppy" James blushed at this comment, making Lily wonder if she should have told the rest of the Marauders.  
"PAY UP PETEY BOY" Sirius shouted and reached his palm across the table expecting money from Peter.

"Fine Sirius, I'll give you the money when we get back, but I bought your Butterbear so I don't think this is very fair".  
The atmosphere at the table was very light hearted; the only person who looked out of place was Remus. Lily felt uneasy, he looked so troubled.

"Did you catch up with Nic?" Lily asked,

"No I haven't see her all day, it'll have to wait until were back at the castle, I was hoping for a little time alone but guess it's my own fault" he replied,

"Nics over in the corner over there with Alistair Roberts from Hufflepuff"

"She's with THAT idiot, he's so vain, and stupid, and Nic shouldn't be with someone like him, he's sleazy" Remus was becoming visibly upset.

"Well I'm sure if you talk to her when were back at the Castle it will be fine" Lily thought she might have calmed him down, but just at that moment Alistair walked past the table with a friend,  
"Yeah I'm here with Nicola, from Gryffindor, you know the one with the huge…" Alistair was about to continue the conversation with his friend when Remus jumped up from the table.

"HER NAME IS NIC, AND SHE'S GOT MORE GOING FOR HER THAN WHAT YOU TWO PRATS ARE TALKING ABOUT" at this point Nic had walked over to see where her drink was,

"REMUS JOHN LUPIN, you ignore me for WEEKS and think you get away with insulting my date and attempting to defend me" Nic glared at Remus.

"Lily, I don't think this is going to end well" James whispered to Lily.  
"I'm sorry Nic but I don't like that you're with here with HIM of all people, and I've been looking for you all day because I really need to speak to you"

"YOU told me I should be with someone like him" Nic snapped back,

"Err I have no idea what's going on here" Alistair interrupted.  
"OH SHUT UP" both Nic and Remus said in unison.

Lily and James looked at each other and rolled their eyes, it was going to be a long night.

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**Not updating till i get 10 reviews, if i do i will update Wednesday**


	11. Preparing for a Ball

**Preparing for a Ball**

**Chapter Eleven;**

Lily and James walked into the Great Hall the next day holding hands. It seemed that news had spread quickly as everyone seemed to stare as they sat down together.

"I feel like I cant do anything without them staring" Lily whispered to James.  
"They'll get over it soon, its just new gossip for them" James replied.

Another group of students entered the Great Hall and also stared, although this time the look on their faces was not interest but disgust. Lily then noticed it was the 7th year Slytherins who had entered.

"James I cant take much more of this, I don't think I'll be coming to eat here if this is how its going to carry on" Lily said angrily to James, but Sirius heard what she had said and decided to take action. Sirius jumped up onto the table;

"MY FELLOW STUDENTS, MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION! YES JAMES POTTER AND LILY EVAN HAVE _FINALLY_ GOT TOGETHER. NOW IF YOU DON'T MIND, CAN YOU GIVE THE HAPPY COUPLE A LITTLE PEACE"

Sirius leapt down from the table and flashed a smile.

"SIRIUS why on EARTH did you do that?" Lily exclaimed. As she looked around the Great Hall Lily noticed that no one was staring, they all looked rather embarrassed.  
"It worked didn't it?" Sirius replied, and then returned to his conversation with Peter.

"So Miss Evans, are you excited for the Halloween Ball tonight?" James asked with a smile growing on his face, "I'll meet you in the common room about seven?"

Lily's face looked blank, and her brain went into overdrive. Lily had completely forgot it was Halloween; she stared at the ceiling and saw the carved Pumpkins ready to be lit for the ball.

"Lily, did you forget?" James asked, with a slight look of disappointment.

"Erm, I guess I did. You have to admit it's been an eventful weekend though. I shall be ready and waiting in the common room for seven though… in costume".

Lily excused herself from the table, and headed for the common room, she now had nine hours to make herself a Halloween costume.

After many hours' hard work, glitter and glue, Lily finally had a Halloween costume. Lily was about to have a rest, after all that's what Sundays were for, but as she lay down on the bed, she heard the door open.

"Nic…Remus? I take it everything is sorted? Oh and do you mind telling me HOW you can be up here? I thought those of the male gender couldn't enter the girls dorm and you did it that morning Lisa was injured, and I've only just thought of it" Lily asked.

Nic and Remus stood in the doorway bemused.

"Lily, can you let us get through the door?" Nic asked, giggling to herself. It was so nice for Lily to see her friend relaxed.

"Lily, I can't tell you the Marauders secrets, it's against our code," said Remus.

"You mean ALL of you can get up here?" Lily shouted.

"I don't think you want the answer, but yes I'd sleep with one eye open as I think certain people would think it would be amusing to try and scare you in the night…and by certain people I mean James and Sirius".

Everyone laughed, but Lily and Nic were a little scared of waking up with Marauders in the room.  
'Right Nic Nic, I shall see you later tonight for some Halloween fun…Bye Lily" Remus said and then left the girls.

"So Nic I take it you and Remus are together… judging by the nickname Nic Nic" Lily enquired.

"Yes…finally! We had a lot of things to talk about last night, and I had to accept things which were very very bizarre, but everything worked out, like it did with you and James" Nic smiled as she spoke to Lily, and Lily was positive everything would work out.

The night of the Halloween Ball arrived, and the girls descended the staircase from the dorms and waited in the common room to meet up with the Marauders. In her rush Lily had scraped together enough material to create a Spider costume, it wasn't as extravagant as she would have liked, but it was still creative. Nic was dressed as a Nurse… it was slightly kinky but Nic had shrugged it off and said "Remus will get the joke". Lisa was dressed as a bumblebee and Alice as "Alice in Wonderland". Lily had to laugh at how diverse the costumes were.

The boys came into the common room soon after. James was dressed as a ghost; Sirius was dressed as the devil, Remus as a knight and Frank as the "Mad hatter". Frank and Alice had obviously got their costumes together. Peter was dressed as a skeleton.

"James…very original just cut up your bed-sheet did you? And Sirius…how fitting" Lily laughed.

"Well Lily, not all of us have your creative flair" James said before strolling to her side and taking her hand.

"Miss Evans I have come dressed channelling the horny devil that I am" Sirius said before winking "Oh and Nic, I must say I am LOVING your costume" Nic blushed as everyone turned to look at her "Its for Remus, he should get the joke" Nic said shyly.

"Miss Evans, I hope is safe with you tonight, you look like one of them Black Widow spiders…the ones which devour their mates" Sirius said.

"James is safe with me, if he can behave that is" and Lily nudged James.

"Right well we may as well couple up and go to the ball" said James, and Nic and Remus, Lily and James, and Frank and Alice all stood together.

"Well Lisa…I think that leaves us together, its only natural we get together, everyone may as well be even," laughed Sirius as he grabbed Lisa's hand.

"Mr. Black what makes you think I wouldn't go with dear Peter here?" Lisa said and she wrapped her arms around Peter. Peter flushed bright red and let out a squeal, it was obvious he wasn't used to female contact.

"Err Lisa I think you better go with Sirius, I don't think poor Peter could handle it" James laughed, and with that they all made their way to the Great Hall for the ball.

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**Not entirely sure when i'll update yet, as im moving so its all a little hectic, but the next chapter is the Halloween Ball.**

**Can people please review, it inspires me to write!**


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